Chaotic Symphonies
by WhisperTheChosen
Summary: Just a really long thing about some Original Character ships/pairings. All characters belong to myself and ReaperXStalker of Fanfiction. Originally was supposed to be a one-shot, but will probably end up being a two-shot instead. Rated T for some language, I guess. ...Also didn't know what to put down for genres, so yeah. Woopsies.


**...Damn, it's been a long-ass time since I last uploaded something onto here. Shit, son.**

 **Weeeell, whatever. I'm just popping in here for a quick moment to upload something RWBY-related here, since I'm also a pretty big sucker for RWBY. Without much context or knowledge regarding where exactly these characters come from, it'll probably be a bit weird and odd in some parts, so feel free to ask me about stuff through the Reviews or Private Messaging, if you want. I'll explain everything from there.  
**

 **Note that this little piece of shit is OC-centric, meaning that there are** ** _no Canon character whatsoever._** **These characters belong to both a friend of mine and myself, and were actually from a Roleplay community/forum that we created them for.**

 **It'll probably be obvious of which characters belong to which person. because they're basically divided into groups. The group that the story starts out with belongs to me, while the second one that's officially introduced later on is mine.**

 **...So, yeah.**

 **Hope you enjoy this piece of crap** **that may or may not have spawned from my obsession with shipping.**

 **The second part is gonna get uploaded sometime soon, probably. ...Would've waited until this was officially finished before uploading it, but...damn, this thing is already long enough as it is, right now.  
**

 **As far as I know, there's two songs that make an appearance with this piece of fiction. The first is called "Joystick" by Simon Curtis, while the second one - the song that this whole thing was spawned from - is called "Fire In My Heart" by Simple Plan.**

* * *

It was an afternoon weekend in the city and kingdom of Vale. The sun shone high across the city, with small, yet noticeable bundles of clouds specked here and there across the heavens above. For the most part, the activity spanning across the city was somewhat tame, yet notable nonetheless. In contrast to some other days, the streets were somewhat clear, but this was only due to the fact that most people were indoors for one of two reasons:

Staying inside for leisure, or gathering supplies at the local shops.

The reason for the latter would be because the school year was beginning yet again.

Of course, this was a well-known yet despised fact that practically all students took note of, regardless if they were younger or older. Summer break was gradually - or, in the case and perspective of some, rapidly - slowing down and ending, so it was no surprise that citizens all across Vale were either preparing for the coming year or spending the remaining time that they had to themselves as best as they could. In some cases, perhaps a little bit of both were being done, but that would be questionable depending on each student's goals and morals.

Off within the further, eastern sector of Vale sat the famous and primary club owned by the Ion Industries: Cloud Nine. Due to the fact that it was first and foremost a nightclub, it was oddly calm and quiet during this time of day. The occasional group or individual passed by the building, speaking some words or praise regarding it if they were somewhat familiar with the club, but simply passed it by soon afterwards because entry wasn't enabled during the daytime. At this time, the keepers of the club would more than likely be trekking the interior of the rave zone, ensuring that everything was in check while prepping for the next night of partying and visitors.

...This would be the normal occasion, at least.

While prepping and whatnot would still be the main thing occurring inside of the building, there would be a little more side activity happening inside Cloud Nine that day. Jogging between the various floors and areas of the club would be the club's main hypeman, as well as the heir of the company of which it belonged to: Taeseung Kyon, son of the man behind all of the club's existence, Jihyuk Kyon. Although the place wasn't quite in business hours just yet, the teen made it his own, personal duty to help out with the things that he and his family were affiliated with, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see him hustling around the building to aid with the club preparations.

On his way from the outdoor area back in, he passed by one of the employees and bartenders. She herself was somewhat shorter than him, and had blonde hair with bright, lavender eyes, with a pair of horns on her head giving way to her Faunus bloodlines. Upon seeing her, Tae gave her a grin while stopping for a moment. He lifted his hand and called out, saying, "Yo, Capric! You're back, man!"

Upon hearing those words, 'Capric' slowed down a bit, glancing around to see where the familiar voice had come from. When she spotted Tae, she merely gave him a slight smirk while turning a bit more to face him, shrugging. "I guess I am, yeah. ...And what, no 'Cathy' or calling me by my actual name again? Since when did you actually call me by my nickname?"

For a moment, Taeseung tilted his head a bit, puffing his cheeks out in mock thoughtfulness. "Eeeeeeh, why do you wanna know? Didn't you _prefer_ to be called that instead of-"

Before he could conclude himself, he was shut up as a small blast of Lightning Dust struck through the air and hit him in the forehead. Despite the fact that it didn't even hurt, he was still a bit caught off-guard by the suddenness of its arrival. Knowing exactly who it came from, he just pouted for a moment while looking at Catharine, rubbing his head as a slight smirk tugged at his lips. "Awh, what the Hell, man?"

By that point, Catharine was already on her way back to the main rave hall. "Yep, it's my preferred name. Never said to stop calling me it, though, so I just helped you out by preventing you to do otherwise just then," she replied nonchalantly.

Tae just stuck his tongue out before sighing and laughing quietly, following after her. Seeing as she went back to her normal, nighttime spot at her according bar, he walked over and sat on one of the seats. "Fiiiiine, whatever. Frickin' killjoy…" he said, heaving an exaggerated sigh before leaning back a bit. He stretched his arms over his head, giving a relieved mutter under his breath as he eyed the girl before him yet again. "Sooooo...why're ya back so early, though? Dad told me that you wouldn't be back 'til tomorrow."

Catharine gave the Kyon heir a quick look before shrugging, turning a bit to tend to shining a few nearby glasses. "A certain lizard told me about what's gonna go down today, so I decided to watch and maybe even help from a distance."

For a few moments, Taeseung was silent as he stared somewhat blankly at the waitress, his ears flickering as he thought on the words that he was just told. After a mere second or so, they perked up as a toothy grin settled across his lips, and he laughed a little bit upon realization. "Oooooh, so Cor gave you a few details, eh?"

"It did come up in a conversation or two, yeah," the neighboring Faunus replied, nodding a bit. She put the cup that she was holding down before reaching for another one, eying Tae for a moment before gesturing up at the stage afar. "That, and I heard you and the others discussing it from a distance. You guys actually talk a lot louder than you think you do, sometimes."

Blinking, the wolf tilted his head before glancing at the stage from over his shoulder, noting how Catharine made a subtle point in its direction. As he turned, he caught sight of some of his other friends messing around on the platform in the distance. From what he noticed, Haven was sitting on the stage, dangling his legs over the very edge as he laid down and seemed to be staring at the others from a flatter angle. Meanwhile, Ryan and Corvou seemed to be having some sort of joking hissy fight and catfight, which resulted in Corvou screaming like a maniac before stumbling off of the stage and falling into the pool right below it with a rather spectacular splash. Ryan leaned over the edge and simply laughed at him like an idiot before he himself was shoved over by Sianna and another girl. From the color of her hair, her wolf-like attributes, and the Ion Industries symbol etched onto the sleeve of one of her shirts, the other girl was more than likely Tae's sister.

Taeseung just watched with a childish grin on his face as he gazed at Ryan and Corvou beginning to wade out of the pool, shifting his gaze to the other three on top of the stage soon afterwards as they all began to laugh at the drenched duo below. "Eh...yeah, I guess we do. But hey- that just shows that they're just as pumped about this as I am, man!"

To those words, Cathy snickered a bit while setting her glass down. She leaned on her side of the bar lazily, cupping her chin within one of her hands as she, too, looked at the others as they messed around for the meantime. "From the way you say that, I feel like you didn't actually rope them into this as a ploy or something."

In a joking way, the wolf scoffed in an exaggerated manner. "Pfffft, I would _never_!" he said in a sarcastically hurt tone, eying Catharine while striking his hand over his heart dramatically.

A moment of silence passed.

"...Okay, fine. It might've been a ploy at first."

"Heh, I figured."

Sighing, the Kyon teen shook his head before fully swinging himself around upon his seat, making it so that he fully faced both the bar and its tender. With a slight smirk, he just rested his arms across the counter, placing his chin on top of them comfortably. "They actually warmed up to the idea, though! I'm actually pretty fuckin' surprised about it!"

It was Catharine's turn to jokingly scoff. "Pfft, you and me both." She tilted her head as she looked at the group afar, watching as both Ryan and Corvou regrouped with the other three. Though she always seemed to put on a somewhat calm yet menacing front at Beacon, she giggled a bit as she watched the two boys begin to shake themselves on their friends, showering them in some amount of pool water. "I mean...we both know that Ryan's a bit on the freer side, but he's still a bit more reserved when it comes to performing for potential lady loves. He may seem completely fine on the outside, but he could be freaking out internally, man."

Turning around yet again, Tae sighed and tilted back, leaning on the edge of the bar counter while nodding and eying the others. "Yeeeep~! Sounds like him… Replace the 'freer side' with 'extremely sarcastic' and 'really skeptical and reserved', and then you get Haven. Out of all of them, I'm mostly surprised about how _he_ agreed to this in the end. But, like...other than that, there's his sister. Sianna's basically a frickin' free spirit, so I'm not too surprised about her… From what I know, Jiyeon doesn't have her eyes on anyone just yet, but she was on board as soon as I accidentally spilled the beans a while back."

"Can't really say I'm surprised about that," Cathy agreed, sighing softly. She took a pause and actually grasped a couple of the cups that she cleaned off, beginning to mix a few drinks into each of them. "Aaand aside from you, there's Cor. And, like...well, Cor's Cor. He's liked a handful of people in the past, but he's always stuck to observing and stuff from a distance for the most part until now. I know for a fact that if he managed to get close enough to a person, though, that whatever insecurity that he has in terms of affection would just get ruthlessly slaughtered in an instant… He's always made it clear that if he ever actually _hooked up_ with someone that he'd smother them in affection and surprises. ...And...I guess this counts as a surprise."

Laughing, Taeseung nodded while looking over his shoulder another time. His ears twitched as he was met with the sight of Catharine beginning to take a sip of a drink that she prepared, all while holding a second one out to him. Grinning, the wolf nodded once in thanks before taking the cup. "You bet your ass it does, bro!" he shot back in agreement, sticking his tongue out a bit. He paused to take a swig of his own drink, and his ears twitched in a slight amount of pleasant surprise as he tasted a sharp spike of sweetness, which died down quickly. A chuckle left his lips as he sipped once more. "...And also, yeah, I ain't that surprised about him, either. I mean, he's both told us about that, too, and made it pretty damn obvious and apparent. That, and he already has Ishi, so...yeah~."

Throughout the small, subtle drinks that the wolf had taken, the girl simply smirked in light amusement. "Glad to see you like your drink," she said, tilting her glass toward the Kyon's way before downing a slightly heftier amount of her drink down. A relieved sigh escaped her as soon as she was finished doing so, and she lowered her glass a bit while pursing her lips gently. "Although, that does make me curious… I haven't had the chance to ask the others about their deals yet, but what about you? How'd you manage to fall for the Aegis girl at all? I mean...I get that you're both from big-name companies and both attend Beacon, but...still, this kinda surprises me."

Tae froze mid-drink, his ears twitching as he glanced at Catharine from the corner of his eye. Eventually, he slowly lowered his glass from his lips, his ears tilting at different angles as he thought for a moment. "You mean Natalie? Eeeeh...well, it isn't like we started talking and stuff through some sorta company meeting, let alone an assignment at school or something… Funny story, because I actually met her and her sister down at her club."

"...So you met her at Summerbass, then, huh…?" Chuckling, the fourth-year huffed softly while beginning to raise her glass again. "Alright, _that_ I'm not surprised about… Ravers attract ravers; DJ's attract DJ's; so on and so forth, I guess…"

"Yeaaaaah, I guess…" Taeseung agreed with a sigh, his ears twitching thoughtfully as he took another, quieter sip from his drink. "After that, she came here for Gamer's Night, and we just bounced back and forth between clubs on occasion from there… From then on, we started talking a bit more, and actually got around to hanging out during the day and stuff."

Catharine turned a little bit to refill her cup, but kept her eye on her canine companion nonetheless. "Sounds like you two have had some fun in the past month or so," she said, smirking slightly.

"Yep, more or less," replied the wolf, winking slightly as he finished the remaining part of his drink before gently setting the glass back on the counter. In a relaxed manner, he lounged back, stretching his arms out and laying them on the edge of the bar's surface. "...Not the naughty kind, though. That's just a big no-no at this point in the game~," he added, sticking his tongue out playfully.

"Sure, whatever you say, hotshot," Capric spoke back, rolling her eyes. A few seconds passed before she fully turned around yet again, swirling another round of drink within her cup before sipping it calmly. "But it all comes down to this, then, huh? All it took was a month for you to fall for her, and another to plan all of this out?"

Lifting his hand, Tae pointed his index finger up in a wait-requesting gesture as he opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out for a little while. Slowly, he began reeling his hand back down, closing his mouth and puffing his cheeks out a bit. Soon, he just shrugged, grinning in a casual, yet slightly sheepish manner. "...Hehe, yeah, I guess I did. Problem?"

Innocently, Cathy rose her hands after setting her drink down. "Nah, nah. 'Course not. I'm still interested in hearing about how all of _this_ -" she began, gesturing to the others as they stood on the stage, "-began. You said that Ji's the one that's been on board with this ever since she found out, right?"

In a slightly skeptical way, the canine gazed at the bartender from the corner of his eye, his ears shifting to slightly different angles as he did so. "...Yeah… Why?"

"Aaaaaand I assume that she was among the first to find out, if not the _very_ first one?"

"...Yeah?"

That last reply seemed to cause a bigger smile to surface across Catharine's lips, and she turned her head a bit in order to catch sight of the other Kyon teen on the stage afar. "Think she'd be cool with sharing some details with me?"

Almost at once, Taeseung widened his eyes while instantly shifting around on his chair, facing the bar before standing up and laughing a bit nervously. "Ahaha...and... _why_ exactly would you wanna do that?" he asked a bit too quickly.

"Beeeeecause I'm curious?" In a completely dismissive way, Cathy began to walk out from behind the counter, beginning to make a path for the stage. "Y'know, that, and it was a rhetorical question. We both know that she'd be all for telling me about your conversation with her, so-"

Before she could conclude that statement, the girl cut herself off as the same wolf that she had been conversing with suddenly threw himself into her line of sight and her pathway. He just laughed again while stepping forward, hooking an arm around her shoulders in what seemed to be an attempt to hold her in place while trying to pull her back to the bar. "C'mon, she wouldn't do that…! ...And...well, you're not really in a place to ask, riiiight? Y'know...privacy and all…?"

Catharine grew quiet as she listened to what her younger companion had to say, and just stared up at him for a few seconds. After a little while, however, she simply smiled again and narrowed her eyes. "Oho~... Is the loverboy getting a bit embarrassed, now?"

"E-Eh?" Having been caught off guard by that last sentence, Tae actually released his arm from the girl's shoulders, staring at her for a moment. "Pfft, n-nah, totally not! The Hell would give you that idea? A-Ahaha...aha...ha..."

"Tae, I know that you act stupid a lot, but it can really only go so far, you know."

Silence would overwhelm the teen for a moment before he gave a heavy sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. "Damn, girl...ouch." Quietly, Tae laughed while shaking his head, letting his arm go limp and fall back to his side reluctantly. "Nyeh...I guess you're right, though. But, like-... I just-... ...C'mon, I-"

This time around, Taeseung was the one who was cut off as Catharine stepped forward and suddenly slugged him in the shoulder, causing him to yelp from shock before grabbing his arm and rubbing it. Despite the fact that it didn't actually hurt too much, he just eyed her while pouting. "D-Dude, what the Hell was _that_ for?!" he whined.

Chuckling, Catharine crossed her arms over her chest while tilting her head. "First and foremost, to make you shut the Hell up. Seriously, man." Huffing a bit, she turned around and walked back towards the bar, though just enough to be able to take a seat on the same stool that Taeseung himself had occupied. "Second, to try and calm you down, man. It's obvious that you're starting to freak out right now. You just gotta calm the fuck down, y'know? Take a deep breath and all that shit."

"H-Ha...yeah, I know… C'mon, though…! Even in my case, that's still easier said than-"

Suddenly, a tune rung out across the vacant rave hall, immediately earning Tae's attention, alongside the attentions of Catharine and the group in the distance, despite the fact that they were somewhat further away.

" _Baby, grab ahold of the joystick! Take control of the motion!"_

" _I can feel it when you- ah, ah…"_

" _Baby, you make all of the choices~!"_

" _Other players can join us, if you're feelin' like you wanna…"_

As soon as he heard the tune, Tae recognized it and immediately went on to shuffle through his vest's inner pocket. It took a moment for him to successfully reel his phone out, but, by then, a noticeable amount of the chorus had already been heard before he managed to turn the volume down. Upon muting it, he just froze while staring at the device, eventually letting his ears and tail twitch slowly as he barely brought his gaze up to meet Catharine's. Much to his chagrin, he saw her grinning childishly and knowingly at him. He took a moment to glance at his friends on the stage, though immediately looked away and laughed awkwardly the moment that he noticed that they wore similar expressions.

In that moment, Catharine could've made an entire scene to torment the wolf, but she merely shook her head before slipping off of the stool and began to walk past Taeseung. She patted his shoulder gently while just smirking at him. "You've always been the alpha wolf, man. Don't let the fact die now just because you've got another crush," she said, giggling in amusement before walking off to join the others.

Seemingly in some bit of disbelief, Taeseung just found himself staring after his companion somewhat blankly for a moment or so, though managed to snap out of his daze eventually as he gave a loud and hefty sigh. Taking the other crossbreed's advice, he shook himself out while inhaling a bit, holding the breath in for a moment or so before releasing it and just smirking with confidence. _Alpha breed, man. You're an Alpha. Always been, always will be,_ he thought silently before glancing back down at his phone.

" _Caller: Natalie Aegis"_

He stared down at the screen for just a second more before unlocking his phone to take the call, and then went on to lift it up to his ear. "'Sup?"

"Tae? I got your text earlier," the voice spoke from her end of the line. "I'm on my way right now, but...what exactly am I meeting up with you for? And...why did you want me to bring the others along with me?"

On his end, Taeseung just shrugged casually while continuing to grin, leaning back a bit and allowing one of the bar chairs to support him after he stepped towards them once more. "Aaaah, just a little get-together~! I mean, school's just around the corner again, right? I dunno if anyone's gonna be free again for the next few days, so I just thought it would be nice for us to hang out for what could possibly be a last time before we get buried alive in assignments and shit!"

Natalie paused for a moment before sighing quietly, asking, "That's really the reason you did this?"

"Well, yeah! ...C'mon, you know that I'd do something like this, anyways!" Tae replied with a laugh. It took a moment's pause for his voice to suddenly grow low and questioning- although in a completely joking manner. Although Natalie wouldn't be able to actually see it, the wolf pouted softly on his end, though smiled slightly as a sign that he wasn't quite being serious. "...Awh...was it a bad idea? Should I call it off…?"

"No, no...I was just wondering, is all…" Natalie replied at first, breathing another, quiet sigh. "I'm guessing that some of your friends are gonna be there, too, then?"

"Weeeell-"

"GOD FUCKING DAMMIT- I'M NOT INTO LOLIS. GODDAMN YOU ALL."

At those words, both ends of the line grew silent for a few seconds. Soon, Tae laughed quietly in a childish manner. "...Hehe, does that answer your question?"

"Yep… Yeah, it does."

"Heh, cool." Taeseung took a brief pause as he leaned a bit more into the bar behind him, shifting a bit to grow more comfortable. He just grinned while eying the others - who seemed to be bagging on Haven at the moment - before continuing on. "So you guys are gonna be here in a little while, then?"

"Mhm, should be in a few minutes or so."

"Aha, good~! See ya in a few, then!"

"Yep, see you."

Outside the club, only a mere few minutes away by car, Natalie hung up the call and placed her phone back on the dashboard of her car. Glancing up to the rearview mirror, she glanced at the other occupants of the car for a few moments before returning her gaze to the road in front of her.

"Are you guys doing alright back there?" She asked as she pressed down the clutch and shifted up a gear. Her car, a Ferrari Spyder, had been modified with massive musical potential and the ability to host a small party in the back of the cab. At her words a particular Cat Faunus glanced up from the book he was reading to look at the sniper herself.

"Heh. Yea, we're doing alright. For the most part," Kuro answered as he peered over the top of his book. Sitting besides him to the right was yet another Faunus, albeit a skimpily-dressed one, and to his left sat a small, uniquely clothed girl. At his words the witch opened her eyes slowly, having been in the middle of a nap prior to the phrase being spoken.

Mizu yawned groggily as she sat up fully, stretching her arms as best she could in the cramped space as she lazily looked around the filled cab around her. "How much farther?" She murmured, her eyes only half-lidded as she spoke.

"Only a couple more minutes," Natalie responded, turning a corner onto a different street and decelerating slightly. She shifted down another gear as the skimpily-clad Faunus besides Kuro sighed and placed her drumsticks back into her purse.

"No offense, Nat, but it feels like I've been sitting here forever~" the Princess complained, leaning back further into her seat and tilting her head upwards.

"Leaf, I really don't want to hear it right now," Natalie said dismissively. If she had asked Leaf what she would rather have been doing it could have been rather disastrous for everyone present.

"Y'know, I'm still trying to figure out why you wouldn't let Melody come with us," spoke another girl. She was sitting on the opposite side of the cab, and was currently in the process of packing her own things up as well. Her blonde hair was down, and her bangs were covering her right eye as she sat back up in time to hear Natalie's answer.

"Because if I had let her she wouldn't have let me have any actual fun. She tolerates it when I'm at Summerbass because I work there. If I brought her here she'd be watching me like a hawk for almost the entire night… also, Leaf is more than enough compensation."

The only member of their group who wasn't in the car was a certain Wolf, however that same person was trailing behind them by only a few feet on her motorcycle. She was staring ahead with her usual glare as the Spyder pulled into the parking lot of the club they were attending, and the professor herself turned in to stop in the parking space besides the rest of her party.

As the group of people, including Leaf, all filtered out of the car Ishini began to trek towards the entryway of the club, her ears picking up Natalie's low whistle as they walked in and continued to trek straight in. Leaf, in all her glory, almost sped off down the leftmost hall, but had been hastily grabbed by Natalie and forced onto the right path.

As the second group made their arrival, Catharine had made her way across the main rave hall, making an occasional stop to all of the other bars strewn across the area to check on any possible bottles or cups that they were down on. After leaving one of the last counters, she hummed under her breath while tucking a list with the needed drinks and materials for the oncoming night into her shirt. In the process, she caught a glimpse of movement from the corner of her eye while walking across the clearing. Blinking, she looked over at the source, and, upon noticing the approaching newcomers, she smirked quietly under her breath before quickly jogging back in the direction of her respective bar area. On the way there, however, she stopped by a panel towards the closest corner of the room. Upon arrival, a small, holographic keypad appeared on top of it, and, when she swept her fingers across a set combination of memorized numbers, it disappeared before the panel itself caved in and slid up to reveal a small array of controls. Reaching out, she looked over her shoulder while pulling on a lever, which, in turn, caused the lights all across the room to shut down and dim suddenly.

Before this had happened, Tae seemed to be discussing something over with his own friends. He seemed to take a pause midway into the conversation and explanation that he was giving to reach into his vest and take a small device, of sorts, out. When he pushed a button on it, it quickly unfolded itself and locked into a new figure, becoming a sort of futuristic-looking headset with a visor. Once it was folded out, he brushed it off a bit and secured it over his head. He began to fiddle around with its controls and settings via a few buttons on the visor frame, though stopped abruptly as the lights were shut off. At that moment, he, alongside the others standing with him, turned around in attempt to glance around the room to spy who had done so. Due to the fact that all of the present individuals – excluding Ryan – were Faunus, alongside the fact that Catharine seemed to hold up a shining, Dust-shrouded hand while waving towards the entryway to the rave hall, they traced the source somewhat easily. After an amount of doing this, she diminished the light from her hand before making her way back to her respective bar, turning what little lights there were there off before leaning against the counter and awaiting what was to come.

It took a moment for the wolf to actually realize what was happen, though it took less than that for him to take a deep breath and smirk to himself before turning around to face his companions. "You guys just about ready?" he asked, beginning to step back slowly yet carefully towards the edge of the stage.

Ryan was the first to reply as he mirrored his friend's smirk and gaze, lifting a hand in the dark to give him a somewhat visible thumbs up. "Ready here, mate," he confirmed with a chuckle, turning around for a moment to silently and swiftly jog off. Within a matter of seconds, he made his way toward the center of the stage, taking a seat at his own, personalized drumset. Rolling his neck, he sighed softly while murmuring something under his breath. In a small bit or preparation, he reached beneath the collar of his shirt, pulling out one of the earphones that he wired through the back of his shirt. While eying the others, he gave them a continued, yet slightly tense smirk as he slid one of his hands into his pocket and wrapped his fingers around his mp3 player, blindly scrolling for a certain song. Once it was found, he nodded quietly to its beat before pulling a pair of drumsticks from a slot near the bass drum, beginning to tap along to the tune's beat on his set. Each time that one of the drums were hit, the corresponding drum instantly and brightly flashed in a bright crimson; a perfect color match to its player's aura, and basically the only source of light seen throughout the room for the moment.

While this went on, Haven and Corvou guided themselves toward the same side of the stage, each boy respectively taking hold of an electrical guitar and a bass guitar. Haven quickly hooked his instrument up to a speaker, with Corvou doing the same when he returned to his side of the stage and sat down on a seat somewhat closer to Ryan.

Making a few, subtle clicking noises with his tongue, Corvou chuckled under his breath while eying the others with him. "You guys feeling the pressure?" he asked in a slightly teasing tone, his tail coiling partially around his seat before swaying to and fro gently.

"Toooootally not," Haven spoke back in an exaggerated tone, his back turned to the others as he crouched next to his own speaker. He leaned back a bit, beginning to finalize the tuning for his guitar before going on. "Unlike you guys, I'm just doing this stuff to help a friend out. I mean, I do worry about accidentally fucking stuff up for everyone, but I ultimately have nothing to be pressured about, so… Yeah, bite me."

Snickering lightly, Taeseung allowed his ears to twitch before he shook his head, sitting down and crossing his legs. With the way that he was sitting, he was mostly and purposely turned away from the entryway afar, and was facing the other guys. "So you say, Ven~…" the canine cooed in amusement, smiling wider. This comment earned him a quick, questioning stare from the Tasmanian Devil himself, but he shrugged the gaze off while immediately turning to face the girls. "What about you guys? You ready?"

"Juuuuuust about~!" Sianna replied first, giggling while beginning to make her way down one of the flights of stairs leading back to the rest of the room. "Gotta say that I'm actually kinda pumped about this…! I mean, I'm still pretty frickin' nervous, but I'm looking forward to this big time!"

"Hehehe, of course you are, Sianna," said the other girl as she passed by Tae, ruffling his hair. She giggled as she heard him groan, and quickly skipped away towards Sianna's side as he tried to swat her away jokingly. "C'mon, admit it, though! You're all pumped about this, right?"

"Hard to say," Haven sighed flatly, shaking his head. Hearing those words, Sianna puffed her cheeks out before stepping over, quickly shoving her brother over before beginning to run down the stairs. She left him to fall over onto his side, though cared not about the fact as she swiftly and quietly made her way over to the left side of the rave room.

Taeseung laughed while watching, pointing at Haven for a moment as the Devil grumbled while slowly beginning to sit up. As the other wolf approached him, however, he blinked before gazing up at her. "…The Hell's that look for, Jiyeon?"

He would be met with no reply for the first few seconds, but, just as he was about to repeat himself, he yelped and fell backwards as Jiyeon flicked him in the forehead. Immediately after doing so, she, too, giggled before scurrying down the opposite flight of stairs that Sianna made her way down from. "Nothing, really! But good luck, Tae!" she said quickly. "Y'know, not that you'll need it, of course~!"

The third-year laid as he was in silence after listening to what his sister had to say, and went on to eventually close his eyes and sigh softly under his breath. He remained this way for a short amount of time before the same, toothy grin that he was known for appeared across his lips again. At the same time, he pulled his weight up, bringing himself into a sitting position again.

"Heh…damn straight I won't need it…" he muttered to himself, looking between the trio before him. He took a deep breath before releasing in a rough, growl-like exhale, laughing within his normal, charismatic nature while clapping his hands once. "A'ight! Let's get this shit started, pronto!" he said, activating the microphone on his headset after speaking this.

All three of his companions gave him a curt nod as they heard their 'leader' speak those words. Ryan stopped his drumming temporarily, taking a soft breath as he backtracked the song that he was listening to before waiting for the others. Haven began to stand back up, brushing his clothes down while assuming a correct grasp of his guitar. Corvou followed suit, albeit while still sitting down. They each remained in a still silence for a second or so, exchanging glances before Haven was the first to strum along the chords to the song that they were set to play, with Corvou and Ryan joining in quickly and at relatively the same time.

Closing his eyes, Taeseung smiled softly to himself as his ears twitched. He nodded his head and tapped his foot absentmindedly to the melody as the intro to the song played along. With his entry part already nearing, he leaned back comfortably and planted his hands into the ground behind him, drawing a deep, quiet breath in before beginning to sing along in a perfect harmony to the song. (Link:  watch?v=dC7Pog3biCk )

" _I betcha didn't know, ya started off a chain reaction…"_

" _I saw no intention on your face…"_

" _It must have been some kinda chemical attraction…"_

" _I felt a spark; left a mark I can't erase, I can't erase…"_

" _It's like oh! Oh~!"_

" _Somethin' like a bolt of lightning…"_

" _Oh, oh~!"_

" _Is goin' on inside!"_

With the connections that the instruments and Tae's built-in microphone had to the stereo systems strewn all throughout the room, their little performance automatically began to play all throughout the raving hall. The sound of their musical session was crisp and clear, and would more or less be immediately heard by those within closer proximities to any one of the entryways into the main hall.

With the volume that the surround sound systems were purposely set at, it took less than a second for Natalie and her friends to hear the song being played, alongside the voice behind the vocals. Struck with some degree of curiosity and confusion for a bit, they each came to a slow stop as they peered into the rave room and at the stage from afar, only being able to see the distant glowing and pulsing of Ryan's drumset with each rhythmic beat he sent onto his instruments.

Kuro seemed to be the first one to speak up as his ears twitched lightly. "Uh...were we supposed to get here a bit later?" he asked, glancing between the others. "It kinda seems like they're a bit busy right now."

Natalie shook her head quietly, looking at the feline from over her shoulder for a moment. "Nope… Tae would've said something about a delay if that were the case," she said, beginning to walk yet again. "I've been here a few times in a past, so I know that they perform sometimes. They're probably just wrapping up a practice session."

Though still a bit questioning, the rest of her companions went on to follow her not too long after she resumed her stride forward. Soon enough, each group member would be met with a view of near-darkness as they finally entered the rave hall. For the humans of the group, the only thing that they would be able to easily see would be the occasional, glowing pulse of the drumset secured on the stage. The Faunus would have a little less trouble with their night vision, though it would more than likely still prove to be a difficult task to gaze through the darkness nonetheless.

"Ooooh~… See, you say that they're just wrapping up a little practice session," Leaf began in an amused, sing-songy voice, "buuuuut…to me, it's starting to look more like a surprise performance…" As she spoke, she seemed to make her way towards the back of the group in another attempt to find her way to the west wing of the club yet again. Just as she was about to be home free, she seemed to be thwarted another time by a particular witch as she simply walked after her.

"Where are you going?" she asked the princess from behind her. Hearing the words almost instantly despite the music as it played, Leaf quickly looked over her shoulder and found herself glancing down at the smaller girl.

"To…" Leaf began, though trailed off moments after starting her statement. She just stared at Mizu briefly before sighing and shaking her head, quickly beginning to turn back around and walk towards her destination. "…Ah, whatever. You already know where I'm going, anyways."

Blinking quietly, Mizu tilted her head slightly while staring after the distancing fourth-year. "Okay, then…" she said calmly at first. After a moment or so, however, she turned around to face the others. "Naaaatalie! Leaf's trying to be dirty again!"

Those comments earned the attentions of not only Natalie herself, but also the remaining three with her. Kuro just gave a single, awkward laugh while Ishini sighed quietly while watching Leaf quicken her pace after being exposed to the whole second party. Arin seemed to give a mix of the two's reactions.

"When exactly _isn't_ she being dirty?" the amber-eyed wolf asked no one in general, her arms crossed as she watched the koala continue to scurry off.

"...Who even knows…? Knowing her, she probably doesn't stop even when she's sleeping…" Natalie said with a faint trace of defeat, shaking her head quietly. Like the others, she trailed her gaze after Leaf, though only for a few moments before looking back up at the stage. "...Mizu, could you go and bring her back? I don't really care how, just...get her back here."

The witch glanced over at the Aegis for a moment before nodding and giving her what seemed to be a quick salute. "Aye aye!" she spoke happily before turning around and running off in the direction that the princess that disappeared in. Within an instant, she turned the corner leading into the western part of the club. The sounds of nearby employees calling after her would be heard for a little while, though would begin to grow fainter and fainter, indicating that Mizu had somehow managed to run past the guards and straight into the strip club within.

While those words had been exchanged, Arin drew her gaze away from Leaf soon after she disappeared into the hallway afar, only to shift it over to Natalie quizzically and somewhat curiously. "You're not gonna get her yourself again?"

Quietly and slightly, the DJ shook her head while keeping her attention on the band members in the distance. "No, not this time."

At those words, the others around her gave her a quick look. Kuro gave his ears a soft flicker as his brows rose a bit. "Getting a bit more interested in what's happening, now, are we?" he questioned in a rising tone.

While she didn't bother to look at the feline, she gave him a simple, "Hush," in reply.

Up on the stage, the boys continued to play along to the song. At some point, Taeseung had turned around a bit, glancing over at the group down below while continuing to sit. Ryan began to get a bit more into the routine, while Corvou seemed to be doing the same as he leaned forward, visibly nodding his head to the beat of the song as he smiled gently. Even Haven was doing the same thing after roughly a minute of the performance, though stiffened slightly as he heard the witch's shout from below. In an instant, he peered through the darkness, spotting Mizu with the others and gazing after her when she sprinted down into the left hall.

While confused and slightly off-guard, he did his best to recompose himself while continuing to strum along to his guitar. "...Why, uh… Why the Hell is she here?" he asked slowly and unsurely, turning his head to face the others. "I...don't remember her name being tossed around when we were still discussing this shit…"

"Because this is a group thing," the drake replied to his Devil companion, snickering in amusement as he looked at him from the corner of his eye.

"Aaaaaaye, mate~! If we're doing this, then even _you_ gotta woo your loli love," Ryan added, grinning widely at Haven while sticking his tongue out a bit. Seeing this, the Tasmanian Devil grit his teeth and groaned uncomfortably, his ears pinning back the slightest bit.

" _I'm not._ _ **Into. Lolis**_ _,"_ he growled slowly and awkwardly, which just seemed to cause the guys closer to him to laugh a bit more.

Being sharp on his senses - alongside maintaining a wolf's hearing with his Faunus genetics - Taeseung seemed to catch most traces of the conversation behind him, if not all of them together. Hearing the guys talk about the topic at hand made him grin like an idiot, and the slightest hint of his glee and a laugh could be heard in his voice as he - and eventually the others on occasion, despite their quick and minor dispute - sang on. Not letting the others completely mess him up, however, he just shook his head while turning around a bit more, sitting crossed-legged to completely face the others afar.

"' _Cause I'm burnin' up- it ain't no joke!"_

" _And all my cells are goin' rogue…"_

" _I'm caught up in a blaze with no way out~..."_

" _And as my self-control goes up in smoke,"_

" _One more hit- I get so stoked!- that I…"_

" _...I'm glowin' in the dark…"_

" _You lit a fire in my heart!"_

The music died down to a tamer level as the chorus ended for the meantime, and Taeseung smiled widely as he began to stand up. He kept his gaze locked on the second group - specifically on Natalie herself - as he slowly began to step closer to the edge of the stage, nodding along to the song's rhythm.

" _You lit a fire in my heart~.._."

As the quieter repetition of that line began, Sianna and Jiyeon seemed to make their first appearances as they quickly darted in from the opposite sides of the hall, wearing a few neon bands, anklets, and necklaces to stand out against the darkness. The sight of them earned the immediate attention of all who remained on the lower level, so they each kept their eyes on them as the girls each gave a synchronized cartwheel-backflip combination as their entries into the scene. They each landed in a crouch with their heads bowed some ways in front of the bunch, and had their left hands struck over their hearts, with their right hands gently beating against the backs of them in what seemed to be a motion matching to a heartbeat.

All that Natalie and her friends would be able to do in response to their sudden entry was to stare at them in what was probably surprise and slight confusion. Whatever they were actually thinking, however, would be cut off within moments. Before they could do anything more, Sianna and Jiyeon shared a glance, grin, and giggle before quickly standing back up and running behind the group. Each person would feel themselves being pushed forward by the two, guiding them closer to the bottom edge of the main, central pool that took its image and form after the Ion Industries symbol.

Still giving them little to no time to react, Jiyeon was the first to slip past the others and stand in front of them, seemingly readying herself for action related to the next verse. Given a second or so had passed, Sianna followed suit, though took a quick stop past Kuro in the process. Thanks to the light of her necklaces, the quick smile and wink that she gave him would have been somewhat noticeable and she slid past him. In a playful manner, she gently yet quickly glided her finger beneath his chin and gave him one of her necklaces before turning around and skipping back to join her own wolf companion, laughing.

The mercenary himself just stared at the Red Panda quietly, shifting his gaze between her and the remaining Kyon sibling as they put on an energetic front while waiting for the song to continue. He glanced at Natalie from the corner of his eye. "Still think they're just wrapping practice up?"

"I...well, I'm starting to have my doubts, now.."

Though she kept her head tilted up to face the stage and the girls before them, Ishini's eyebrows rose a bit as she peered at the Aegis from the corner of her eye. "You're starting to have doubts _now_?" she asked somewhat flatly, her tone carrying its normal intensity.

"...It's getting there," Natalie spoke back while returning the gaze ever so slightly, allowing herself to look over at Ishi for a moment before looking back towards those in front of the group. "Although, you gotta admit that you're a bit curious, too… I mean, by this point, it seems like we're all in the same boat."

Throughout the little gestures and conversations below, Taeseung watched from above with a smile. _Awh, look at you, Sianna… Getting smoother by the moment~_ _,_ he thought in childish amusement while swaying slightly in time with the music. He gave a brisk sigh as he shifted his attention between both of the performers down below, closing his eyes yet again as he listened for his next singing cue. When the tune returned to its initial melody towards the start of the song, the grey wolf opened his eyes to gaze down at the DJ down below once more, lifting one of his hands and pointing at her with his continued grin.

" _It was kickin' that beat, steady in my body…"_

By the end of that line, both Sianna and Jiyeon began to dance along with the melody. Meanwhile, Taeseung himself only stopped for the second-long pause before the oncoming line, narrowing his eyes and flashing a toothy grin those below while just stepping off of the stage in a seemingly careless manner.

Arin blinked once as she, alongside the others, watched with slightly widened eyes. "What's he-?"

Just as she said that, the grey-furred wolf afar began to fall down- a normal reaction from the force of gravity. However, as he dropped down a few feet from the top of the stage, he disappeared into a swirling mass of what seemed to be Dust. It was of a color strikingly matching to the hue of his aura, and quickly rushed through the air before becoming relatively close to the dancers near the pool. When the swarm got close to the ground, it released a rather sparkly and intense pulse outwards before Taeseung reappeared from it, still smiling and giving his utmost attention to the azure-haired raver before him. If those with Natalie were to look to the sidelines for a moment with some degree of focus, they would see that Catharine was the source of his little performance as she swiped her hands across the air in front of her, with her fingers being illuminated within swirls of her aura and Dust alike as she guided the Huntsman through the room.

"' _Til you pumped it up with gasoline~..."_

In perfect sync with the other dancers, he gave a cartwheel-like flip through the air before swiftly spinning on the first foot that he landed back on, winking up at Natalie in his normal, charismatic nature while sliding across the floor.

" _Ya struck a match, and, just like that, ya got me…"_

The three then shifted quickly onto their knees in a kneeling position, all holding their hands out with open palms to face the ceiling above. Afterwards, they rose the remaining hand, striking their fingers across their palms. As soon as they did so, the tips of their fingers sparked fiercely before they ignited in the similar, Dust-induced essence that carried Tae across the clearing just moments before. While Sianna and Jiyeon progressed on to draw a star-like shape in the air in front of them, the canine himself quickly got up and wound back, initiating a series of quickened backflips towards the pool behind him. Just before he would've made a splash down into the waters, he dispersed into his prior, Dust-like form yet again, and the particles quickly shot up higher into the room and gathered before bursting and replicating the type of image that one would see on the Fourth of July.

" _...Now I'm the brightest firework you've ever seen~."_

When those words were spoken, the sparkling particles that dispersed as a result of the firework-like light show quickly rushed back down as Catharine swiped her hands around from afar, and, yet again, Tae dropped out from them in a smooth manner when they collided with one another towards the ground. With the third-year revealed yet again, he swiftly slid forward and across the ground a second time as the girls made a single, smooth slide toward either side behind him. By the time he got back up, the trio was in sync yet again as they effortlessly mirrored one another's dance steps.

" _It's like oh! Oh~!"_

" _No, there's no need to run for water…"_

" _Oh, oh~!"_

" _Don't ever put me out!"_

The end of the fourth, pre-chorus line was reached, and it was then that the music seemed to reach a temporary end. The only sounds that echoed throughout the room for a small while were the continued vibrations of the guitar strings and, to some degree, a few remaining traces of the last drum-symbal combination that was struck. Alongside that, what little lighting that was exhibited by Ryan's drumset and the neon accessories that Sianna had - even the one that she had given to Kuro - immediately went out. The room went truly black at that point, and it was then that the trio before them began to slowly slink back a bit into the darkness towards the pool's edge. All the while, Haven and Corvou began to swiftly lay their instruments down before jogging in the direction of the stage's edge. Ryan did the same as he slipped out of the seat behind of his drumset.

This silent, vision-lacking state went on shortly, and it was then that the melon witch seemed to be returning with Leaf in her tracks. She had a small, accomplished smile on her face as she began to turn the corner. In contrast to just a few minutes earlier, she seemed to be wearing a different set of clothes, and also had what seemed to be a duffel bag slung over her shoulder. The same scenario seemed to be applied to Leaf as she followed in a somewhat different, yet more presentable attire, though she pouted with a slightly disapproving look as she picked through her hair, plucking the occasional seed and watermelon chunk out and flinging it somewhere to the side.

"Were the melons really necessary…?" the koala asked in a low, whining tone. She paused for a moment as she drew her hand from her hair, groaning softly as she spotted a small bundle of seeds sticking onto one of her fingers. She just flicked it off like she did with the rest while reluctantly following Mizu.

"Well, Natalie said she didn't care _how_ I got you back here," Mizu replied with some degree of pride, continuing to look pleased with what she had done. "I got bored after a little while! So...I just decided to make things a lot easier for me!"

"Yeah… Not to mention a lot messier…" Leaf added with a sigh, shaking her head as she rid herself of another, noticeably juicy chunk of watermelon. "Y'know, you're probably gonna have to clean that up later."

Mizu just shrugged, glancing over her shoulder at the princess with the same, innocent smile that she had been wearing through the walk back. "I'm pretty sure that it'll be fine!" she insisted, beginning to turn the corner into the main hall, though seemed to stop a fraction of a second after her eyes were met by the darkened state of the area. "And...well, if it isn't, I'll just help them later! No proble-... Woah~..."

"What is i-..." Leaf began, slowing down and stopping by the witch's side. When she did so, however, she caught sight of the darkness filling the rave hall, as well. Her ears twitched lightly in both curiosity and confusion alike. "Wow...what's even going on right now…?"

The two shared a small period of silence before glancing at one another from the corner of their eyes. After doing so, they each averted their gazes back into the darkness, slowly beginning to walk in the direction in which they assumed the others to be in.

In the process, the center of the hall seemed to begin to trickle back into an active light as an area towards the back - seemingly the edge of the stage, due to its elevated height - suddenly and quickly sparked up within a small light show. Much like the Dust essences that enveloped Tae before, three more streaks scored through the clearing and neared the others on the ground below. Their colors began from the center, then struck left and right, giving off colored streaks and bursts of crimson, cyan, and navy blue respectively.

Once the surges arrived on the dancefloor, a final beam of a multi-colored Dust formation struck up at the ceiling, erupting into a mass of colorful, rainbow-like sparkles that illuminated the room enough for sight to become an easy thing. The moment that the light oh-so-slightly began to give the room its glow, Tae and the girls had performed yet another flip towards the group, each of them gently yet obviously consumed within a background of some flame-like energy. Haven, Ryan, and Corvou were with them, as well, and this sort of imagery carried on behind them, too, as they mimicked the movements. As soon as they all began moving, an instrumental version of the song began playing exactly where the guys had left off beforehand.

"' _Cause I'm burnin' up- it ain't no joke!"_

" _And all my cells are goin' rogue…"_

" _I'm caught up in a blaze with no way out~..."_

As the chorus went on and the newest arrivals to the main floor started singing that time around, both Corvou and Ryan slid forward in order to join Taeseung towards the front. Haven remained in the back for the meantime, accompanying Jiyeon while his sister made her way to the front, as well. Everyone in the performance mimicked the movements that Sianna and Jiyeon had done earlier in the other choruses.

" _And as my self-control goes up in smoke,"_

" _One more hit- I get so stoked! - that I…"_

" _...I'm glowin' in the dark…"_

" _...Ya lit a fire in my heart~!"_

" _...Ya lit a fire in my heart…"_

The music began its bridge, so the melody toned down a significantly more tamer level. In the process, Taeseung, Ryan, and Corvou each began to step and slide forward slowly, making their ways to Natalie, Arin, and Ishini respectively as they seemingly waltzed forward. While it seemed that they were the only three who were going to put on a sort of special display, Haven seemed to hesitate for a moment as he glared at the witch through the darkness when she neared. It didn't take a locked gaze with Tae to feel that the wolf was watching him, and, after groaning quietly under his breath, the Tasmanian Devil clenched his teeth while quickly yet awkwardly following suit after the guys, diverging on his own little route towards Mizu. The rest of the guys smirked while noticing this, but immediately shifted their attentions back to each one of the girls before them a split second afterwards.

Taeseung was the first to reach his 'partner', and he simply looked down at the DJ near him with an amused grin as he began to walk slowly around her. He held her gaze as the others followed suit with him, each mimicking the wolf's movements just a step after one another in a sort of delayed, yet organized sort of pattern.

" _Oh, oh~..."_

" _So come and warm your hands around me…"_

In a smooth manner, all of the boys finished their little walks around the girls, and quickly spun around before sliding back to their places in front of them. Each of them then proceeded to kneel down before them, and reached out to gently clasp their hands over one of theirs. They each lifted the selected hands of their special viewers, slowly looking up to meet gazes with them with an amused, and, in the case of a certain pyromaniac, slightly bashful smile. The four of them lifted their hands up to their lips while still peering up at them, seeming to be on the verge of kissing them in some romantic gesture. Instead of doing this, however, they all just lifted their free hands before flicking them across the air. A trail of Dust corresponding to each of their aura colors formed in their midsts before sparkling out.

" _Oh, oh~..."_

" _I will light you up tonight…"_

With those words, all of the light provided in the room dimmed out, and whatever sparkles that existed from the Dust-based lightings faded out for the meantime, too. Silence overwhelmed the room as the five quickly got up into a crouch before scooting back a few feet, allowing the girls to take the lead for the meantime. The moment that they continued the repeated dance for the chorus, the music blasted back out as loud as ever as another Dust explosion flickered and illuminated the room. In their new positions, the boys themselves began to dance in tune to the song, as well, though performed a different set of movements than Sianna and Jiyeon in the process.

"' _Cause I'm burnin' up- it ain't no joke!"_

" _And all my cells are goin' rogue…"_

" _I'm caught up in a blaze with no way out~..."_

In the next few moments, Jiyeon darted away from her position by Sianna, stepping to the side a bit before taking a few quick-paced steps toward the little audience. Much like how she had done earlier when the scene was just beginning, she gave a couple of cartwheel-like flips towards the second party. With some pent-up energy, she actually lifted herself off of the ground and above them with the last flip, and, like her sibling, dispersed into a mass of Dust-base swirls above them for effect before they retreated to the eastern section of the hall.

At that point, the five main dancers remained, and were in some sort of linear formation in front of their respective guests as they continued moving to the melody of the song.

" _And as my self-control goes up in smoke,"_

" _One more hit - I get so stoked! - that I…"_

" _...I'm glowin' in the dark…"_

" _...Ya lit a fire in my heart~."_

All five of them spun forward and closer towards their targets. Each of them had grins on their faces as they watched them and the chorus repeated one last time.

"' _Cause I'm burnin' up- it ain't no joke!"_

" _And all my cells are goin' rogue…"_

" _I'm caught up in a blaze with no way out~..."_

" _And as my self-control goes up in smoke,"_

" _One more hit- I get so stoked!- that I…"_

" _...I'm glowin' in the dark…"_

" _You lit a fire in my heart!"_

For the last time, the music began to die down. It was then that Taeseung, Ryan, Corvou, Haven, and Sianna each began walking slowly forwards yet again, all while in a rhythmic pattern. All five of them had their hands placed over the left sides of their chests, and were beating over the area gently while continuing towards them. With each beat, the outline of a Dusted heart could be seen enveloping their hands, and the image only grew brighter and bolder the closer they grew to their other halves.

" _...You lit a fire in my heart…"_

Four of the five stopped in front of their affections, lowering themselves onto one knee as they bowed with their heads facing the ground and their hands continuously clasped over their hearts. Taeseung was the only one who kept moving forward, and, before he gave Natalie a chance to react, he quickly slipped around her and swept her off of her feet before leaning down to the ground and bringing her with him. To prevent her from falling, he crouched with one of his knees out, balancing her gently on it as he kept one of his arms around her for further support.

He continued to smile down at her all the while, and slowly moved the remaining hand from his heart down in front of her face. The others did a similar gesture as they gazed up while lifting their hands up to Kuro, Arin, Mizu, and Ishi, and in each of their palms hovered a full, seemingly solid and three-dimensional heart composed of Dust.

" _...You lit a fire in my heart~."_

A few moments of silence passed as the affections in question absorbed the situation. They were still reeling slightly from what they had just seen, but unsurprisingly enough it was the little witch, now dressed in a dark purple dress that accented her eyes almost perfectly, who reacted first. She reached her hands up to slowly poke the heart in Haven's hands for a moment before shifting her gaze to him. The statement after being the most absurd thing ever for the current moment.

"Haven-san wa baka hentai," Mizu said, her voice quieter than usual as Kuro suppressed a snicker in response. However, true to her fashion, Mizu reached a hand to her own chest and tapped on the space above her once. When she pulled away, there was a heart-shaped dragonfruit in her palm. She looked back at Haven with a smile before placing the dragonfruit heart next to the one already in the boy's hands. "Watashi… daisuki, Haven-kun."

All at once the romantic atmosphere had been renewed, and the corners of Kuro's mouth twitched at the display he had witnessed as he drew his blade off of his back. In a silently profound statement, he offered it to Sianna. Something that took even Natalie by surprise for a moment. Ragnarok was a family heirloom, passed from father to son for generations since its creation. However, it had always been the mother that upgraded it for the next generation. The blade was the Kitai equal of a family ring. A promise, one that would be kept for as long as possible.

Ishi smiled at Corvou as she looked up to him, shaking her head gently before opening her mouth to speak. "Even without the offer, I knew I had your heart anyway." She said almost uncharacteristically. Seeing the Wolf exhibit actual feelings was another new one for some of the people there, although it was hardly surprising to those who had organized the event.

"Certainly spent a bit of time on this one didn't you?" Natalie teased as she leaned against Tae. She reasoned with herself by stating that it was the least she could do after he went through all this trouble- even if he did enjoy making her life a hot, uncomfortable hell for several hours. Arin had held a similar reaction to Ishini, although she merely got a bit emotional and hugged Ryan.

Arin had a lot to be thankful for. Ryan was one of those gifts she constantly reminded herself was something she used to only be able to dream about. After her change, she had been convinced that she was a monster, and would only hurt those around her. But he had helped her change her own mind, to see that being a lycan wasn't a curse, just a natural part of her new life. That was the biggest thing she was thankful for. Her acceptance wasn't spoken, it was felt.

Safe to say, each person who had spoken through their owns means of confessions allowed themselves to react to their other, personal halves. By the end of things, the smiles basically shone brighter than any of the remaining Dust chandeliers or lights in the emptied rave hall, but, in the case of some, this hadn't been triggered right off the bat.

Upon hearing the mage's remark in response to his part of the gesture, Haven actually just allowed his jaw to drop slightly, and he glared at the witch before him with a dumbfounded look as slight traces of a blush slowly crept up across his features. "E-Eh?! What the Hell- I do this and _that's_ the reaction I get?!" he ranted immediately in response, becoming ignorant of the snickers that the others gave him in response to the retort. "Frickin'-... Y'know, it ain't like I decided to do this right off the bat, man…! I almost didn't even- ...Y-Yo, what're you..."

Rather than continuing his confused rant, the Tasmanian Devil chose to trail off - albeit a bit awkwardly - as he watched Mizu begin to reach up to her own chest. He just stared at her for a moment, and found himself shifting his attention to the dragonfruit in his hand just a second after doing so. Although he didn't look at her as she said her second statement, his ears twitched softly as confirmation of the fact that he did, in fact, hear what she had to say.

He chuckled quietly, awkwardly, and bashfully, scratching the back of his head with his free hand as he looked up at Mizu from the corner of his eye ever so slightly. A smile of his own had found its way back upon his lips as the crimson on his face deepened a bit, but, for once, he seemed not to mind.

"Heh… Anata wa watashi wo daisuki desu ne…?" he said quietly. Another laugh slipped from his mouth as he shook his head, and he just moved his bent leg so that he was just kneeling in front of her. With his free hand, he seemed to hesitate one last time, but shook his head with a continued smile as he reached out to hold one of the girl's within it. "Aa, jya, jya~... Sou, watashi wa hentai desu." Those first words were spoken in a joking and sarcastic manner, though seemed to hold little to none of his normal and bitter outlash. He continued on, adding, "Demo, Mizu-chan wa daisuki dayo."

At first, he softly grasped her hand within his own. While doing so, he gently put both of his acquired hearts down before reaching the remaining hand up, clasping it over the hand that he held in order to envelop hers within the touch of both of his.

"Aishiteru, Mizu-chan."

A few feet away, Corvou had been peering at the ashen-haired swordsman as he progressed on with his post-performance gestures, smirking as he watched Haven do his thing. He shook his head after a moment or so, sighing and murmuring softly before averting his gaze towards the amber wolf standing in front of him. His smile remained as he eyed her, and he kept himself down on one knee as he reached up to take one of her hands, placing the heart within her grasp. "I should hope so, my lady," he said with a slight, yet joking mock. His formal speech kicked in, but only for a moment before he continued on. "Give it a few years... I promise you that I'll be exactly like this again- but I'll be offering you a ring alongside my heart. One that I'll present to you, kinda like how _you_ did on Christmas Eve… Heh. I remember that night pretty damn clearly, and I'm sure you do, too~."

Rather than standing after saying this, the drake seemed to tip over lazily before just sitting down on the floor. With a continued smirk, he just reached out and gently yet firmly grasped the neighboring professor around the waist, pulling her down with him and into his lap. A soft laugh escaped his lips as he nuzzled into her hair and held her close to him, similar to how a child would keep a beloved plush toy. As he did so, the slightest shine of amber and cobalt could be seen upon his figure, each one dangling from a small pendant on a chain and shining from a ring nestled upon one of his hands respectively.

"Saaaaaving that for a future conversation, though~… I...am yours, my love." With those words, he lifted his head slightly, leaning forward a bit while to gain a clear view of his beloved's face. After a moment or so, he chuckled quietly before leaning forward just a tad more to plant a quick kiss upon her lips before just gazing at her with all of the affection he could possibly have. "I have been for the past year, now... And I will continue to be forevermore~."

With his next few words, the accents of one of the few other languages that he knew kicked in fluently.

"Je t'aime, Ishini… Je t'aime, je t'aime."

Just a yard or two away, a certain, dual-toned-haired Revolutionary was dealing with his own reactions, as well. While the others handled their own situations as they saw fit, he, of course, did the same. For a little while, he remained quiet and within his knelt stance, patiently yet knowingly eying Arin as he held the heart out to her. Noticing her moving forward, though, he merely laughed and began to stand, extending one of his arms out before wrapping it around her to accept her embrace. He hummed and chuckled into the Huntress's ear absentmindedly as he kept her close for the meantime, gently waving the heart within his other hand. This motion seemed to cause it to disperse, but it just vaulted upwards before exploding into a smaller mass of sparkles above everyone present.

"Heh...what, we gettin' a bit speechless, lass~? Can't muster anything other than a hug right now, eh?" Ryan asked teasingly, leaning back slightly and just enough to be able to look Arin in the eye once more. His smile remained as he hooked his remaining arm around her waist, seemingly insisting on bringing her a bit closer by the gesture alone. Gently, he tilted his head a bit as he gazed into her eyes, pressing his forehead against hers as his lips remained just an inch or so from hers in a playful, yet loving manner.

In a continued playfulness, he narrowed his eyes while biting his lip in a light, devilish fashion, pulling her closer to his body while doing so. His smile grew just a bit more all the while, and he leaned forwards just a tiny bit more so that his lips became even closer to hers. Softly, he hummed while speaking again, but in a whisper that time around.

"Not that I'm complaining at all, though... I wouldn't be too surprised if that were the case, and it definitely wouldn't change the lovely view and thoughts I have on you for any reason~."

On another end of the deal, the situation regarding Kuro and Sianna remained silent for a little while. Upon seeing and noticing Ragnarok being presented to her, the Red Panda tilted her head quietly and curiously. Her ears twitched faintly as she stood back up, shifting her gaze between the feline before her and his offered piece of weaponry. Despite not knowing exactly what was happening at the moment just yet, she eyed the sword a final time before reaching out with her free hand, carefully grasping it while trading it for the heart that she herself had held.

At that point, she used both of her hands to keep the blade in the air, supporting it by the hilt carefully as she examined the blade. _Swords, huh…?_ she thought to herself at first, blinking quietly as she slowly and carefully turned Ragnarok around a bit in order to examine it better. _Huh...I feel like this is supposed to be symbolic, or something… Like...symbolic in some way, or whate-..._

It was that moment in particular that things seemed to instantly click.

With another flicker of her ears, Sianna seemed to remember bits and pieces of conversations revolving around Ragnarok when she heard about it. She blinked slowly as a slight smile tugged at the corners of her lips. Traces of the slightest crimson insisted on surfacing upon her cheeks, but she cared not as she lifted her head a bit and peered up at Kuro from the corner of her eye. Giggling softly, she led one of her hands away from the practically-legendary sword, holding it by her flank by a single hand as she stepped forward. Making sure that the blade didn't drag across the floor, she winked at Kuro as she reached her then-freed hand up, choosing to go on and pet one of his ears with a smirk. While doing so, she leaned up and rather close to his face.

"Hehe… This wouldn't happen to be your little version of a proposal, would it~?" she asked with teasing curiosity, her tone casual and sing-songy as she spoke. "Because...y'know~. Considering I did all of _thiiiiis_ willingly," she said, lifting the hand that she was petting the boy's ears with to wave it around widely to emphasize her statement, "I'm pretty sure that it's safe to say that I'd prooooobably accept either way. ..More or less."

After saying this, she just stared silently at Kuro for a few moments before leaning back a bit and crouching down, softly laying Ragnarok itself onto the floor next to her. Ensuring that it would be safe for the meantime, she glanced down at it before nodding and standing back up again, smoothing her clothes down as she looked at the feline before her for another time.

Without any warnings whatsoever, she ended the period of silence between Kuro and herself by suddenly lunging forward, wrapping her arms around him and giggling as she just tackled him to the ground and nuzzled into his chest. At the same time, she also lifted one of her hands up to his head and just began to pet one of his ears again, sticking her tongue out at him during a pause in her nuzzling to glance up to him.

Throughout all of the conversations between the others, Taeseung had, indeed, heard the remark that the neighboring DJ with him had spoken to him, but took a good while to observe everything around him with an amused look and smirk. Seeing everything appear to go well made his smile grow a bit wider- and this little change was only prolonged as the wolf watched Sianna tackle her personal target down as if she were a professional football player.

Some seconds afterwards, he sighed and laughed a bit while finally glancing back down at Natalie. In mock yet jokingly thoughtfulness, he put an exaggerated gaze on, looking as if he were pondering on the question asked of him. "Eeeeeeeh~. Weeeeeeeell, we didn't spend _too_ much time prepping on it, I guess. Y'know~. A month kiiiiinda seems like a long while, but when you're doing shit like this, everything seems to fly by reaaaaally quickly! Like- _boom!_ Just like that! Snap of a finger! Blink of an eye! Bam, son~!"

Winking down at the blue-haired raver, Taeseung Kyon chuckled while waving the hand that held the heart once in a sharp manner, causing it to fade into multiple, small streams of Dust. He gazed after each of them as they suddenly swirled and surged up, creating a small light show before joining together above the both of them and colliding all at once. The impact caused them all to seemingly ricochet off of one another as they all shot out in all direction above, creating a sort of mystical-looking veil of light over them.

The grey wolf eyed the sight with a grin for a second or so before bowing his head to look down at Natalie with a more tamed and energetic variation of a wolf's glare, all while maintaining its normal intensity in the process. "Aaaaand, also… After seeing all of this shit tonight and finding yourself in the oh-so-pleasant warmth and caress of my arms, I'm~ pretty sure you know what I'm about to ask you in a bit, if not right about now."

With a bout of energy and confidence, he allowed his freed hand to take hold of one of Natalie's as he grinned down at her.

"So, with that said… I'd be interested in hearing how you'd reply to the aforementioned and hinted question."

As if glancing around for any strange or offputting individuals, Tae paused while looking left and right in an exaggerated manner- a display that made him look like the complete dork that he was. Fully knowing of this, he just chuckled before averting his gaze back to the girl that he held, hushing his tone as he leaned close.

"May I have the honor of calling you my rave girl, Miss Natalie Aegis~?"

**End of Part One(?)**


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